


Take It One Day at a Time

by MasterLillyclaw



Series: I Will Take a Hammer and Fix the Canon [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: "Ichigo & Every Character Listed" basically, Gen, Just Friendship, Mild Language, No Romance, Post-Aizen Sousuke, Seventeen Month Gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-26 11:18:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18715984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterLillyclaw/pseuds/MasterLillyclaw
Summary: In which Ichigo wakes up from his coma without his powers - and finally realizes that he owes an explanation to his friends and family.





	1. Yuzu and Karin (And Isshin, Too!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was disappointed that Ichigo's friends (although apparently not his sisters??) were informed of everything offscreen, and not even by Ichigo himself. And then nobody talked about it ever?
> 
> Time to change that >:3

Ichigo woke up slowly, one sense at a time.

First came touch: the presence of an all-encompassing warmth, from the tips of his toes to his chin – a soft blanket above, a sturdy mattress below. A breeze, not quite strong enough to rustle his hair, tickled his small bit of exposed neck.

Next came smell: something freshly washed, plump with feathers and homely odors he could press to his face and breathe in – the familiar scent of his pillow the night after it went through the washing machine. Fainter, but still present, was the lingering trace of chilly air leaving the room crisp and fresh.

Then, taste: mostly a bland dryness of his mouth. Ichigo smacked his lips twice, noticing a twinge of something, maybe plastic, mixed in.

After that, hearing: a small crackling in the background mixed with the faint pattering of raindrops – his white noise machine. He recognized the pattern easily. He didn’t, however, expect it to be interrupted by a rustling to his left and below him.

Finally, sight: Ichigo opened his eyelids slowly, gazing first at the ceiling of his bedroom, then briefly to the dimly moonlit city outside his window, and finally to the source of the unexpected noise – Karin and Yuzu were curled up in sleeping bags on the floor, and Yuzu was reorienting herself in her sleep. He watched her settle back down, following the rhythmic rise and fall of both sisters’ chests as they slept.

His memories came back gradually as well, starting with his last moments of consciousness in the Soul Society. He’d defeated Aizen, and then everyone had come over to him after he’d released his Getsuga form, and then – nothing. Panic shot through him briefly; he had no idea how he’d gotten back or where everyone else was or –

Karin snored, loud and sudden. The sound brought him back, reminded him that at the very least, his sisters were safe. Ichigo took a small breath and focused on the flickering of spiritual energy inside him. It was frighteningly tiny – he couldn’t summon any Spirit Ribbons – but it was enough to search for other spiritual pressures. There was Yuzu and Karin, and his dad down the hall. He could sense Tatsuki a few houses away, Chad and Orihime in their apartments, and Mizuiro and Keigo at their respective homes as well. Uryū was more difficult to sense, living on the other side of town, but he was definitely there. Nearly impossible to identify were the inhabitants of the Urahara shop, but after some concentration, Ichigo managed to distinguish four spiritual pressures and figured they were probably alright too.

The effort drained him completely. He didn’t even notice his eyelids beginning to droop as he laid on his side, still turned towards his sisters. But Karakura Town was safe, everyone was safe, and he was content as a wave of sleep washed over him. This time, Ichigo slept soundly, getting the rest he deserved.

***

When he awoke later that morning, the sight before him was much different: sunlight pouring in through his window revealed Rukia, Uryū, Chad, and Orihime all standing by his bedside. They smiled warmly as he blinked his eyes open and adjusted to the bright light.

“Ah, Ichigo!” Orihime nearly leapt with excitement, forgetting to keep her voice down. “Uryū said this morning that he felt a shift in your spiritual pressure, and when he asked Mr. Urahara about it, _he_ said that it meant you were waking up, so _he_ contacted _Rukia_ while _Uryū contacted me and Chad and so we_ –” Her voice grew more strained until she suddenly coughed, having forgotten to breathe in an attempt to rush the explanation.

“And so, we decided to come over.” Uryū fiddled with his glasses as he finished Orihime’s train of thought. “Your dad took your sisters out to buy something nice to cook for you now that you’re awake.”

“How – how long was I out for? Did one of you guys bring me back home?”

Rukia explained it all to him: the loss of his Soul Reaper powers and how he was in the final stage before they disappeared completely. That they’d brought his spirit back to his body, and his family had kept him healthy during his month-long comatose regression. She avoided specifying how long, exactly, he would have his remaining power, but he could already feel it trickling away; and if he could feel it, they could too.

They accompanied him outside, and Ichigo took a long look at the street he’d grown up on. It usually had a spirit or two wandering about, but for the first time in many years, nobody was there that he could sense. Nobody but Rukia, whose presence was fading before his eyes.

He said goodbye, and then she, too, was gone.

Ichigo made no movements to leave. He stood right there, looking at where he knew Rukia was, and impressed her image firmly into his mind; he would not forget her. He refused to forget even a single detail.

The others stood patiently in silence. Finally, he broke his gaze away – the question of if she was still there lingering in the back of his thoughts – and looked back at his friends, smiling what he hoped wasn’t too bittersweet a grin. “Alright, do you want to –”

“GOOOOD MOOORNING, ICHIGOOO!” Ichigo spun around just in time to see his dad running like a bullet towards him, several groceries in one arm as the other pulled back to deliver a punch. Out of habit, Ichigo stepped to the side and tripped him, grabbing the groceries that Isshin threw unceremoniously into the air as he faceplanted in the asphalt.

“Nice – eurgh – nice job, son.” Isshin smiled as he stood up, dusting specks of road off his face. “Glad to see your reflexes haven’t dulled.”

In response, Ichigo forcefully tossed the groceries back at his dad. “You shouldn’t try to punch someone to ‘check their reflexes’ after they’ve just woken up from a coma! Actually, no, you should never punch someone to check their reflexes, period!” He bristled for a few moments but couldn’t help softening at seeing his dad alive and well. “Ah… whatever. Doubt I could convince you anyways.”

Yuzu and Karin hastened towards the group, having been left behind by Isshin during his rush. Immediately, Yuzu’s eyes welled with tears and she clutched her hands together with worry. “Are you doing okay, Ichigo?”

He thought of her and Karin sleeping in his room each night to stay near him in case he woke up and he grinned, placing a hand on both his siblings’ heads to rustle their hair. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just glad you’re both safe.” For once, neither sister shook off his hand in irritation.

“Thanks for keeping watch.” Isshin shifted the bags in his hands and nodded gracefully to the trio of friends still standing nearby. “You’re always welcome here, but I think… it’d be good to have some family time – for today, at least.”

 _It could still be four people standing there,_ Ichigo realized, and his hands slipped of his sisters’ heads to rest on their shoulders. But he’d already said his farewell, and it would have to do.

“Of course. Well, Ichigo… See you around.” Uryū hesitated only for a moment before spinning on his heel and walking off. Chad nodded at Ichigo, placing a firm hand on his shoulder as he passed before leaving as well.

Last was Orihime. “Well, you have mine and Chad’s phone number if you need us, and Uryū lives farther away but you’ll see him at school, so… bye, Ichigo! Thank you for letting us all come by, Mr. Kurosaki and Karin and Yuzu!” She waved and trotted off after Chad.

Leaves, scattered across the street, picked up in a sudden breeze as Ichigo waved goodbye to his friends; the brisk wind reminded him that he was only wearing a pair of old, thin pajamas. He rubbed his arms and went back inside, holding the door open as his family brought in the groceries.

After putting the bags on the dining room table, Karin immediately headed to the fridge and Yuzu stood in the pantry. Both Ichigo and Isshin had a propensity for putting things in the wrong spot – not on purpose, but sometimes eggs got misplaced and put in the pantry during a rush, stinking up the kitchen – so the sisters were strictly in charge of ensuring the food went where it belonged. Isshin took the items out of the bags and handed them to Ichigo, who made the trips to and from his sisters and father so nobody ran into each other in the crowded space.

Most importantly, it gave Ichigo something to keep his mind on while listening to his family talk. There was a month’s worth of going-ons to catch up on.

Yuzu did most of the talking at first. “So, after everyone was waking up after the real Karakura Town got put back to normal, all the Soul Reapers had to go around and use a, uh… What was it called again, dad?”

“A _kikanshinki;_ a device to wipe memories.” Isshin gingerly handed Ichigo two cartons of eggs, which he passed to Karin.

“Right! So they erased everyone’s memories, except for a few people like us who they said deserved to know what actually happened. And they let Rukia stay with us for a bit to explain everything else and she stayed in your closet – she said you wouldn’t mind. But all the people who had their minds wiped got confused, and some people worried that everyone had gotten sick and passed out in a crazy mass heat stroke, so school got cancelled for a few days because of that.

“That’s when we got Mr. Ishida’s help to give you a feeding tube – he stuck it right in your nose – and he showed us how to take care of it and give you the right food. And he only took it out just yesterday, since Mr. Urahara said you’d wake up in a month.”

At that point, all the food was put away, but Yuzu began to pull some back out and place it on the counter. Ichigo lingered in the kitchen, not sure what she was doing, until Karin grabbed him by the hand. “Move, dummy, didn’t your friends tell you we went to buy food to cook?” She gently shoved him to a kitchen stool before sitting down next to him.

Isshin plopped into the other empty seat. “You can’t have _mentaiko_ because we don’t want to upset your stomach, so Yuzu suggested _tarako_ spaghetti.” He dramatically sniffled as he continued speaking, pretending to hold back from flinging himself at the giant poster of Masaki hanging nearby. “She’s so resourceful… Oh, I’m always so impressed by your work, Yuzu…”

“Daaad, I’ve cooked this recipe, like, a million times. It’s not like I thought of it on the spot.” Yuzu grabbed their large pasta pot from a cupboard and filled it with water, setting it on the stove to begin boiling. In the meantime, she chopped up a small pile of green _shiso_ leaves and set them aside in a bowl before moving onto the pollock roe.

When Yuzu had first learned to cook, Ichigo remembered how she’d practically glued herself to the notecards of handwritten instructions left by their mother. Now she worked without any recipe at all, simply recalling proportions memorized through constant trial and error.

“But anyways, school started back up after a week and Mr. Ishida came by every weekend to check up on you, even though Dad said he could do it by himself. And Rukia left after a couple of days because she’d already told us the gist of things and was needed to give testimony over in the Soul Society. Did I leave anything out, Karin?”

“Besides how much crying you did at first?’’

Karin smirked, but instead of pouting, Yuzu huffed and quipped back, “Well, if we’re mentioning that, then I supposed I should bring up how you kept holding his hand every day and telling him how things were going even though he was asleep!”

“Y-Yuzu! Then how about when you almost slapped that one Soul Reaper in the kimono because you were afraid he was going to wipe our memories too, huh?”

“Oh, well what about when I –” Isshin tried to pipe in but was met immediately with a hearty chorus of “Shut up, Dad!” from all three siblings.

The family laughed together at that, but the grin quickly slid off Ichigo’s face. “Sounds like you had a lot to deal with while I was asleep. I’m… I’m sorry that you had to deal with the aftermath of everything I did.” He closed his eyes, imagining his sisters seeing his unconscious body and being told by strangers that he would wake up eventually.

For so long he’d been trying to keep his powers a secret from them, to handle it without getting his family involved, but now…

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Yuzu shook the cooked pasta vigorously in a colander to remove excess water. “You’re alive, aren’t you? Everything you did was to protect us and the town – everyone said so! Tons of people came by to greet us and tell us how hard you fought for this. Rukia even said herself that back in May, when this all started, you became a Soul Reaper to protect us from a monster that attacked our house!”

She put the pasta in a large mixing bowl and poured the sauce on top, stirring it together forcefully as she locked eyes with Ichigo. “So don’t you go feeling regret or shame over this, because I – I’m nothing but proud of you!”

Apparently, Yuzu’s forwardness surprised even herself; she scrubbed away the hint of tears forming from her eyes and served the four plates of _tarako_ spaghetti without another word, a red blush splayed across her face.

Before Ichigo could begin thinking of a proper response, Karin spoke up. “We had a lot of time to think about it, you know.” She spun some noodles around with her chopsticks. “I mean, even before this. Ever since all this Soul Reaper stuff happened you’ve been acting differently, and back then we kept worrying about you getting hurt or not coming back at all. You never told us exactly what was going on, but I could see your spirit form, and…”

She sighed. “I know you held back from telling us things to protect us, but we’re tougher than you think. We’re family, and we should be able to support you, but we can’t do that if you don’t trust us enough to tells us what’s happening.”

 _Place trust in them, huh?_ It wasn't that Ichigo didn’t trust them – he did! – but he never knew what the point of telling them was. They’d know, but he was the one who was supposed to fix things, not them. It was on him to resolve the issues without making his family worry.

Or, at least, it _had_ been his duty.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat in silence for. Several minutes, probably, but nobody broke the quiet or forced Ichigo to talk. They simply ate, together.

In that calm, Ichigo reflected on the past few months. It had only been about six months of his life, but so much had happened to him in that time, and he hadn’t told those closest to him about any of it. When Yuzu confronted him, when Tatsuki realized Orihime was gone… He’d brushed them off, only for them to end up involved despite his efforts. Every time, he promised himself he’d explain later, but every time, he decided they could go on longer without an explanation. They didn’t need to know; they shouldn’t get involved; he could do it alone.

It hit him without warning that, had the cost of his final _Getsuga Tenshō_ been his life rather than just his powers, it would have been Kyōraku and the others explaining his death instead of his success.

Ichigo took a deep breath and steadied himself. _That didn’t happen._ But if there was ever a good time to start explaining, it’d be now; after all, there was a lot to go through if he wanted to tell the whole story.

He glanced up from his plate; his dad was looking straight at him, smiling reassuringly as Ichigo caught his gaze. Ichigo nodded in response, filled with resolve. 

“I’m sure Rukia told you about how she gave me my powers during that Hollow attack in May, but did she tell you how she snuck into my room beforehand and trapped me with _Kidō_ and drew on my face?”

Both his sisters looked up at him in surprise. “No, she didn’t!” Yuzu said, scooting her chair slightly closer to his.

Somehow, it wasn’t hard for Ichigo to smile at the memory. “I thought as much. Well, looks like I’ll just have to start from the very beginning then, make sure she told the story right.”

It took time to explain everything; long before he’d completed, their meals were finished and the leftover spaghetti was placed in the fridge. They moved to the living room as Ichigo continued, his family sitting on the couch as he walked around, giving animated gestures for all the fight scenes. He had to pause sometimes, to recall minor details or to regain his composure, but they listened attentively through it all. There were questions at times – for explanations and clarifications – but the longer he talked, the easier it became to continue.

He was proud of having been a Soul Reaper, after all. Having his family be proud of him too was the best thing he could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins... This is hopefully the first of several Bleach fics I'd like to write! I'm excited to ride this train for however long it goes.
> 
> Chapter 2 will be out next week :3


	2. Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I finally managed to write something that's more than one chapter :')

That night, Karin and Yuzu came up to Ichigo’s room with puppy dog eyes equipped and sleeping bags in hand. After making them promise to not stay up too late since tomorrow was Monday, he relented and let them inside.

They all stayed up late talking together anyways, but he didn’t mind much.

By the time he woke up the next day, both sisters were already downstairs eating breakfast. _I’d have thought I’d wake up hearing them moving around… guess not._ Eggs and toast were likely waiting for him in the kitchen, but he wasn’t hungry enough to leave the warmth of his bed, so Ichigo propped himself up with a pillow and looked out the window.

 _How many times did Rukia and I jump out this window to search for Hollows?_ His fingers traced mindless patterns along the windowsill as he tried to sift apart memories that had long since blended into repetition. First she’d had to use that glove, but then he’d had Kon and then the badge to use on his own. _Right… the Substitute Soul Reaper badge. Now, where did I put it?_ Normally it was hooked onto his jeans, but he’d stayed in his pajamas all day yesterday.

A quick search of his bedroom revealed them in the top drawer of his desk, lying atop his notebooks. He grabbed it, feeling its familiar weight and the coarse grain of the wood. It seemed the same as always, although he recalled Ukitake having said something about only people with spiritual energy noticing its activation… or something. Not that Uryū, Chad, or Orihime would need it; they’d always been better at detecting spiritual pressures than him.

Ichigo gripped the badge tighter, pulling it close to him and pressing it towards his heart.

No reaction.

He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I figured… Guess you can stay in the drawer for now, just in case.” Tucked away there, he wouldn’t have to think about it – but the window was still in plain sight behind him.

Although he’d tried hard not to think about her yesterday, he couldn’t help but wonder: could Rukia be hanging on its ledge even now, checking in on him? She’d have someone tell him if she was there, right? Or Kisuke could make her a Gigai – but that took funds and time that Rukia might not be given to spare, especially right after a period of crisis.

Ichigo had promised to see her again, but standing alone in his room, without even an ounce of spiritual power to sense Soul Reapers nor the means to see her on his own, those words felt empty.

The faint _clack_ of a door opening and closing brought him back to the present. It was from next door; probably Tatsuki heading out to school.

“Oi, Tatsuki!” Ichigo popped his head out the window and yelled, waving with one hand while keeping the other gripped to the windowsill. “How’re you doing?”

She turned around immediately, waving back as she jogged over to the clinic’s entrance to stand beneath his window. “I should be asking you that! Are you coming to school today?” Her naturally loud voice carried up to him with ease.

“Nah, I think I’ll come back next week instead.” Home was already supplying enough memories for him to mull over.

“Well, you’ve got a lot to catch up on if you don’t want to get left behind a grade! Ms. Misato’s been pretty pissed even though we promised her you really were sick this time!”

“All the more reason to delay going back as long as possible!”

Tatsuki grinned and shook her head at him. “We’ve all got notes if you need anything – well, maybe Keigo doesn’t, actually, but you know what I mean. I’ve got to get to school now, alright?”

“Tell everyone I say hi!” He dangled his arms out the window as she left, enjoying the small breeze that reminded him of how it felt to fly across town at night. Which made him think of Rukia again, which…

Ichigo’s stomach grumbled; maybe he should grab his breakfast before his sisters put his share in the fridge and left.

***

Around lunchtime at the school, Ichigo’s phone buzzed – once, twice, several times in rapid succession. He placed one thumb on his manga to save the page before groaning as he stretched to grab his phone and see who’d messaged him. Unsurprisingly, it was Keigo.

 **Keigo:** Ichigoooooooo  
**Keigo:** Tatsuki told me you woke up but you’re not coming to schoooool  
**Keigo:** We all miss youuuuu  
**Keigo:** Wait hold up we’ve gotta bring you the notes we took while you were gone anyways  
**Keigo:** Orihime chad mizuiro tatsuki and i aren’t busy tonight  
**Keigo:** Uryū isn’t here yet lol he was helping someone with a sewing thing  
**Keigo:** But we can come over right?? uwu  


Ichigo sighed and muttered aloud to himself as he typed out a reply with his free thumb. “Please . . . bring food . . . so Yuzu . . . doesn’t . . . have . . . to cook.” A smiling emoji flashed in response across his screen, so he put his phone back on top of the dresser.

Now he had something to look forward to this evening, but not much to do in the meantime. Isshin was busy running the clinic in case of emergencies; he couldn’t leave on a whim to entertain his son. The television was full of infomercials this time of day, and the manga Ichigo was reading was one he’d read before.

A stack of his missed homework was tucked into his notebooks, of course, but he did _not_ want to spend the whole day doing work. And going outside, possibly running into people he’d have to explain his absence to, sounded exhausting as well.

He tossed his manga on top of his phone and flopped back down onto his bed. Maybe he could just… keep sleeping. Sure, he’d been asleep for a month, but he didn’t remember any of it so it’s not like it _counted,_ right? Right.

His window was still open, the gentle breeze somehow comforting. It lulled him to sleep within minutes.

***

The sudden rip of paper woke Ichigo, and he opened his eyes to see Karin at his desk looking somewhat fraught, an eraser in one hand while the other held down a now-torn piece of paper.

Ichigo smirked. “How’s the homework going?”

“Fine, until I ripped my dumb essay. Sorry for waking you up, I can leave if I’m bothering you.”

“Nah, it’s fine, I should probably be getting up anyways. What time is it?”

“Almost six. I think Yuzu said Orihime said they’d be coming over around then, so I’d hurry up and get dressed if I were you.”

Right. Pajamas were acceptable ‘sitting in your house with family all day’ attire, but not so much ‘guests coming over for dinner’ attire. Except –

“You didn’t wake me up sooner?!” Ichigo jumped out of bed, nabbing some sweatpants and an old t-shirt from his dresser – he wasn’t going to try _that_ hard, okay? – and ran to the bathroom to change.

As he exchanged one lazy outfit for another, Ichigo paused to look at himself in the mirror. He didn’t seem much like someone who’d been in a coma for the past month, and he was probably a better judge than most people, being the son of the doctor. His body was responsive and his mind alert – perhaps because it had been caused by his soul rather than a physical illness.

The longer he thought about it, the duller the thought of staying cooped up at home all week to catch up on homework seemed. _Maybe going back to school this week wouldn’t be so bad…_

From downstairs, Yuzu suddenly called out, “Coming!” _Ah, shit._ He tugged on his shirt, not bothering to fix his hair, and ran down the stairs two at a time to meet his guests.

Crowding through the doorframe were Chad, Uryū, Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro, along with several boxes of pizza and other bags of goods. By the time Ichigo’s eyes glanced back at the entryway to look for Rukia, Yuzu had already closed the door.

“Lovely to see you all today, Kurosaki family!” Keigo took off his shoes and slid (via his polka-dot socks on the hardwood) into the kitchen, chuckling to himself. “As promised, I’ve brought plen-ty of food for us to share!” He spread out the pizza boxes on the dining table with a flourish.

“I believe _we_ paid for all this, Mr. Asano, as I do recall you complaining during lunch that you were flat broke.” Mizuiro placed his share of bags on the table, pulling out some soda and putting it in the fridge before setting out a stack of paper plates.

“Aww, please don’t call me that, Mizuiro, you’re breaking my heart here! Tatsuki, back me up!”

“No way, not unless you pay us back, you cheapskate.” She laughed and elbowed the upset Keigo. “Don’t let him ruffle your feathers like that, you know he’s joking. You hungry right now, Ichigo, or do you wanna wait?”

“Might as well eat now before the food gets too cold. What’d you get?” Ichigo opened a box at random and saw what had to be the worst horror-show of pizza toppings that had ever been conceived.

“Ooh, my tuna-peach-noodle-peas-mayonnaise surprise looks delicious!” Before Ichigo could close the lid in disgust, Orihime grabbed a plate and happily topped it with several thick slices. “If anyone else wants some, feel free to try it!”

“Right… Thanks for the offer, Orihime…” Luckily, all the other pizzas were normal, being mostly margherita or Hawaiian, with a few non-Orihime specialties mixed in. Ichigo grabbed three slices of Hawaiian for himself before moving aside, unable to resist taking a bite as his friends grabbed their share. It was still hot; Tatsuki must have picked it up from the pizza place down the street.

They meandered into the living room after everyone grabbed food and drink. Isshin insisted on letting Orihime sit in his recliner, while Mizuiro, Keigo, Chad, and Tatsuki squeezed onto the couch. The floor was good enough for Ichigo and his sisters, and Uryū… was apparently content to crouch by the coffee table, his back to the TV.

“Should I go get the stuff in the kitchen?” Chad turned to Tatsuki, who shook her head and held up a plastic bag.

“No need, I already grabbed it.”

“Did you buy movies or something?” Ichigo tried to peek into the bag, but Tatsuki was already splaying its contents across the short table, revealing a lineup of board games: Monopoly, Catan, Mahjong, and even The Game of Life.

Without hesitation, Ichigo grabbed Monopoly, peeling off the lid to set up the board. “Well, well, Tatsuki, it appears it’s time for some payback!”

She rolled up her sleeves and shot him a menacing grin. “We’ll see about that, crybaby. When was the last time you beat me?”

Chad gave Orihime a brief look of worry, but she simply shrugged and mouthed _competitive_ at him.

After some heated debating of house rules, the game began with seven participants – no teams, each opponent for themselves. Yuzu and Karin decided to just watch, while Isshin went back to the kitchen to read his newspaper in relative peace.

The first game took two hours; Ichigo jumped quickly into the lead and nagged at Tatsuki for most of it until Mizuiro twisted Ichigo into an unexpected bankruptcy and the game collapsed. Halfway through the second game, Uryū revealed his true tactical colors and crushed the rest of the competition within an hour. At that point, both Chad and Orihime left Monopoly for a less stressful game of Mahjong with Yuzu and Karin. The third game was even shorter, with Mizuiro and Uryū dominating as masters of the craft, and it quickly devolved into a duel between them. Keigo dropped out afterwards to play Go Fish with Isshin, who had wandered back in during game two. For the fourth game, Ichigo, blinded by irritation at the previous three losses, agreed to pair up with Tatsuki for a team match – and the duo was crushed by the opposing Team Intellect within half an hour.

“Ahh… You two must have cheated, I swear…” Ichigo slumped his head on the coffee table in defeat.

“Well, the shortest Monopoly game could hypothetically run in less than half a minute, so I think thirty minutes is a perfectly valid time frame to defeat an opponent.” Uryū pushed up his glasses and sighed. “It’s not our fault you two lack basic bargaining skills.”

“Yeah, I thought with all your boasting that you’d be a much more difficult opponent, Ichigo.” Mizuiro smiled, tapping away at his phone in the respite. “And you too, Uryū – it would seem that I’m still in the lead as far as victories are concerned.”

“W-well – I’m not finished yet!”

“Sadly, it would be in our best interest to postpone. You may be able to fly home, but Keigo and I still need to walk back, and it’s getting pretty late.”

“Right, you guys have school tomorrow.” Ichigo scratched the back of his neck before stretching and getting up from the coffee table. Behind him, Isshin was gently waking the half-asleep Yuzu and Karin from their positions on the floor.

“ ’m not tired, Dad, I swear…” Yuzu tried to wiggle out of her father’s grip but let out a large yawn and gave up.

“Come on, kiddos, to bed we go.” Isshin heaved the sisters up and, after extracting some mumbled goodbyes from them, took them upstairs.

Everyone remaining began shuffling about, grabbing their bags and throwing away the grease-soaked paper plates scattered around the room. It wasn’t long before they were all lingering by the entryway, slipping on their shoes.

“Well, thank you all for coming, everyone, it’s…” Ichigo hesitated for the briefest moment, words catching in his throat. To him, he’d seen them only a few days ago; to them, he’d been comatose for over a month. “It’s good to see you.”

“Well it’s good to see you too, best buddy-o’-pal of mine!” Keigo sidled up next to him, fluttering his eyelashes. “You know we missed yo~u. We’re just glad to see you!”

 _Right._ Shame boiled up in his stomach, twisting it into knots. Surely, they’d already been given an explanation like his family had, but didn’t they, too, deserve to hear it from him? He’d been a terrible friend for long enough; the least he could do was apologize.

“Ichigo.” Mizuiro spoke his name calmly, typing something into his flip phone before closing and pocketing it – an unusual gesture. “It’s okay. You know that, right?” He tilted his head nonchalantly as he locked eyes with Ichigo.

Were his thoughts written that clearly on his face? “Well, I mean, it’s not like I can take back the things I said or did, but still, I –”

“You’re here. That’s the important thing – that’s the _only_ important thing. Now, we can only guess at the thoughts swirling around in that thick skull of yours, but…” Mizuiro shrugged. “A month ago, I thought you might never wake up at all, but now you’re here. I’ve got all I wanted out of this; I won’t be asking for anything more.” He pulled his phone back out, apparently content with his statement.

“Not to say that an explanation wouldn’t be nice eventually, Ichigo.” Tatsuki locked eyes with him. “Orihime and I already had a long talk –” she tousled Orihime’s hair “– about how people shouldn’t go off and get abducted by the enemy because they think they’re so worthless that we wouldn’t be worried about them, but I think you still need a conversation about not trying to handle every single thing on your own. But… yeah, that can wait however long it needs to.”

“Honestly, I just wanna hear about all the cool stuff you did. And see you show off some sick moves, maybe…” Keigo muttered that bit to himself. “Plus, storytelling is way more dramatic if you do it on the rooftop. You can walk up to the chain link fence and grab onto it all melancholy-like, maybe give us some cliffhangers at the end of lunch. There’s just no time for stories when we’re all tired, ya know?”

“Just make sure that when you do, the rest of us are there to make sure you’re not spreading falsehoods.” Uryū winced as Orihime elbowed him, an angry smile plastered to her face. “Er – I mean, not that you _would_ spread falsehoods… We’d all just like to be there.” Orihime nodded, her smile losing its vaguely threatening presence as it directed itself at Ichigo, and Chad gave a grunt of affirmation.

They were right, of course; they were – well, they weren’t always right, but in this case, they were. He settled into a wave of calm, letting gratitude rather than guilt wash over him. There was always tomorrow, or the day after that, or however long it took to say everything he wanted to say.

They would wait.

“Well, just text me when you all get back, and have a nice night.” After some hugs and handshakes and murmured goodbyes, everyone filed out the door and went their separate ways.

Ichigo went upstairs slowly, not wanting to make too much noise. He pried open his bedroom door slowly to see his sisters already asleep, as he’d figured, and tiptoed around them to grab his pajamas from his closet. From his desk, his phone lit up.

 **Tatsuki:** Home safe, ya dingus  
**Ichigo:** I wasn’t exactly worried for you of all people  
**Tatsuki:** oh  
**Tatsuki:** shit  


Well, that was certainly an informative pair of messages.

 **Ichigo:** ???  
**Tatsuki:** Forgot to bring you any notes  
**Tatsuki:** That was like, the whole point of this  
**Ichigo:** Oh. Right. What a shame.  
**Tatsuki:** Just you wait, you’ll see those notes before the week is up  
**Tatsuki:** But I’m tired, so good night!  
**Ichigo:** G’night 

A message came in soon after from Uryū, who had indeed used _Hirenkyaku_ to travel back quickly. Ichigo changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth, figuring he could shower in the morning. By then he’d received another confirmation from both Chad and Orihime, and a message from Mizuiro as well.

 **Mizuiro:** Mr. Asano has just realized that we never gave you the notes like we planned, and is already scheduling another visit tomorrow.  
**Ichigo:** Well you can tell ‘Mr. Asano’ that he should think of his wallet before making those decisions  
**Mizuiro:** Noted.  
**Mizuiro:** Mr. Asano is now very sad.  


A brief spam of crying emoji’s on Ichigo’s end confirmed as much.

 **Ichigo:** I’d be sad too if you called me by my last name like that  
**Mizuiro:** Now, now, Mr. Kurosaki, whatever do you mean?  
**Mizuiro:** Yeah, you’re right, too weird.  
**Mizuiro:** Honestly, I think I’m just used to calling Keigo that at this point, I don’t even think about it.  
**Mizuiro:** Don’t tell him I said that though.  
**Ichigo:** If you say so  


Ichigo stayed up just long enough to get confirming messages from Keigo and Mizuiro before curling up in bed and closing his eyes. It was late; not quite midnight, but nearly so, and the streetlight outside cast light that Ichigo could feel beyond his eyelids. Every now and then, the lights outside flickered, crackling just enough to be heard over his white noise machine. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, tasting the bland dryness of air as it circulated. There was no breeze tonight, no scents dancing on the wind; everything felt still, as though the world was wrapping itself up in a tranquility that it had been missing for far too long.

And just like that, Ichigo fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes: I am a Big Sap and want people to be Happy and Friends. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
